PWG Seven with KB

[klunderbunker]

PWG Seven
Date: July 29, 2010
Location: American Legion Post #308, Reseda, California
Commentator: Excalibur

This is more or less the last major indy company that I haven’t done a review of. I don’t know most of the people on this show but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews for this company so it has to be worth a shot I guess. PWG is a California company that is apparently good at having high energy shows. It looks like your typical indy roster so let’s get to it.

This is the Seventh Anniversary show apparently, hence the name seven.

Brandon Gaston/Candice LaRae/Johnny Goodtime vs. Malachi Jackson/Peter Avalon/Ryan Taylor

And with zero introduction, zero reason for why these people are fighting or who the hell any of them are we’re off. Gaston, apparently in a black sleeveless t-shirt, hits a springboard Diamond Cutter to someone. Ok I know who Gaston is and since I don’t think there are any girls named Peter I’m assuming I know Candice. Avalon is in the long tights and I’m sorry for writing all this out but I have no clue who they are and I need notes.

This is Avalon’s debut in the company it seems and LaRae is kicking the hell out of him. She hits like 15 shoulder to his ribs until her partners pull her off. Damn it Gaston took the shirt off but he has blue tights with his name on them so that helps. Goodtime has the lighter blue ones. That helps a bit. Triple team throw has Avalon in trouble. Jackson vs. Gaston is the official starting pair. And never mind as Avalon wants in instead. At least I know who everyone is now.

You can barely hear the announcer due to the fans. Avalon does some pelvic thrusts and wants Candice. She’s rather attractive so I can understand that. Avalon and Taylor hug a bit before any contact is made. Other than the big rush to start we haven’t had any actual structured wrestling yet. Avalon grinds into her ass a bit on a go behind and they lock up.

Avalon takes her to the mat and dry humps her some more. Now he humps the referee. Is this supposed to be funny? Either way it gets Avalon a face chant despite him seeming to be a heel. LaRae gets two on a rollup and Avalon likes her sitting on his face. Off to Gaston for some chops and now it’s Goodtime in. Ok I guess tags mean nothing here as it’s still Gaston. Yes we get it fans: you can say WOO.

Stinger Splash by Gaston and it’s off to Goodtime. The fans really seem into Goodtime. Jackson breaks up a pin off a slingshot Demolition Decapitator to Avalon. Gaston gets a legdrop for two. As far as I can tell none of these people have any significant appearances outside of PWG. Off to Jackson who appears to be the heavy hitter of this time. He backflips out of the way of a chop but can’t avoid two in a row from Gaston.

Taylor in now with a wristlock on Gaston. With Gaston on his knees Taylor hammers in some forearm smashes and fires some kicks. I have no idea who I’m supposed to be for here as Taylor wrestles like a good guy. He busts out a Spinarooni (kind of) as a lot of his offense is like Booker T. They slug it out with Gaston’s shots looking horrible. DDT and a nip up should result in a tag and after a delay it does bringing in Goodtime.

Goodtime cleans house with some high flying stuff including an Atomic Drop (called a Manhattan Drop for no apparent reason, and yes I know that’s an alternate name for it). He gets sent to the floor and LaRae helps out a bit. BIG springboard moonsault by Goodtime to take out the heels. Goodtime has a pitcher for some reason. Oh it has beer in it.

Avalon shoves Goodtime off the top rope to send his face into the apron. Apparently our announcer is named Excalibur. Well sure why not. Off to Taylor vs. Goodtime again and I’m pretty sure Taylor’s team is the heel variety. Jumping tornado DDT by Goodtime buys him a breather and it’s off to Avalon and LaRae again. Stunner for LaRae gets two. More sexual innuendo results in Taylor and Avalon kissing.

Gaston in again with a cross body with a backflip added in. Everyone busts out finishers because that’s what we do in indy companies and LaRae grabs guys balls and suplexes them using a handful for leverage. She gets kicked in the head after not being able to find Avalon’s in a funny bit. Gaston hits a Burning Hammer and we get stereo handspring backflips to the floor. LaRae hits a top rope moonsault to Jackson for the pin.

Rating: C+. It was definitely fun and was definitely there for the sake of getting the crowd going, but at almost 15 minutes it was a bit longer than it should have been for an opener. It gives me an idea of what to expect on the show and they did a decent job of getting the crowd going. A bit too much comedy and insanity, but still pretty good.

Brian Cage vs. Brandon Bonham

Cage is a heel here and this is his debut in the company. Bonham is well known it seems. “Who the fuck are you” chant to start us off which is dueled with a BRIAN CAGE chant. Great it’s one of those kind of companies. We hit the mat quickly as apparently a guy is out due to drug issues. Glad to know that. Cage takes him down with a big clothesline but gets slapped in the face for dancing.

Things speed up a bit so Cage hits the floor. Bonham takes him out with a huge tope con hilo and Bonham takes over. There are two commentators now. No idea what his name is but that’s not important I guess. Bonham kicks Cage in the back while Bonham is standing on the apron which sounded great. Double stomp misses and Cage takes over for a bit.

Cage might have fallen off the apron and hit his head on the chair. There’s the stomp as Cage is in trouble. There’s very little room between the chairs and the ring, maybe three feet. Cage gets him up in a powerbomb position and rams him back first into the post. This has barely been in the ring at all. Cage works the ribs a bit and back into the ring we go for a change. From what I can find, Excalibur will have a revolving door of commentators with him so I’ll just have him listed on commentary.

Excalibur makes fun of Kentucky which puts him on my bad side for a bit. Bow and arrow by Cage on the mat. Apparently Cage has signed a developmental deal with WWE since this aired. Bonham reverses a suplex into a small package for two and hits the apron for a sunset flip attempt. Cage gets a nice counter by laying down onto it for a Northern Lights suplex. Never seen that as a counter before.

Pair of backbreakers gets two for Cage. Oh apparently the other commentator is Chris Hero. Nice to have them tell us the name. They headbutt it out and Cage works on the back/ribs some more. Spinebuster gets two and we get a modified camel clutch with crossface shots. Leg drop gets two. Decent little match so far. Would be nice to be able to understand the commentators but that’s a stretch I guess.

Bonham throws some loud chops. He adds what I can only really describe as a sideways cobra clutch suplex for two. Nice looking move. Cage gets a big discus lariat for two as this is rather back and forth. Lionsault lands on Bonham’s face. Cage is mixing things up here to the point where it’s almost like a video game. That’s not really a compliment mind you. Bonham gets a big boot and a pair of hesitation dropkicks in the corner for two.

Arm trap burning hammer (which is a reverse Death Valley Driver if that term means nothing to you) gets two for Bonham as the kickouts are getting ridiculous here. Bonham goes up and gets caught in a release German suplex for a delayed cover. Naturally, it gets two. They slug it out from their knees and the dueling chants begin. Gory Special into a Downward Spiral by Cage, which naturally gets two. Canadian Destroyer by Bonham ends it seconds later.

Rating: B-. This is my problem with indy matches. Ok one of my problems with indy matches that is. These two were having a really entertaining match but it became a parade of kickouts as both guys hit flashier and flashier moves that had no flow to it at all and was designed to make a highlight reel.

Also the constant kicking out makes the offense look weak. It’s fine in a main event or on two matches in a show but not on the second match on the card. Also the indy fans need to stop cheering for heels. It means they’re doing a bad job as they’re supposed to be hated. Match was fun but went into indy territory which is what makes me not want to review these shows that often.

Akira Towzawa vs. Chris Sabin

What would an indy show be without a Japanese wrestler? I’ve heard of him though so that helps a bit. The fans are already chanting something and we hit the mat for some technical stuff. The fans seem to be behind Sabin but it’s hard to tell for sure. Lots of technical and back and forth stuff here and we hit a standoff. They really need to work on the technical aspects here and lower the fans’ sound level. Either that or raise up the commentators.

Tozawa hits a flying hip attack which is a signature move apparently. A bunch of kicks to the head takes down Sabin down for two and we hit the chinlock. Tozawa screams into Sabin’s ear. That’s certainly different. Akira is sent to the floor and Sabin hits a huge dive up and over the top to the floor. Back in the ring now with Sabin in control with some kicks and strikes in the corner.

Half crab gets Sabin nowhere. Suplex gets two. A top rope cross body is caught by a dropkick/double knee or whatever it was and here comes Tozawa. Shining Wizard minus the running part sends Sabin to the floor and a suicide dive puts him down even more. Now we talk about the X-Men for some reason. In a goofy looking spot, Tozawa misses a diving headbutt, pops up, misses another one, pops up again and hits a senton like nothing happened. So when Benoit missed one he was down but here two misses mean nothing. Got it. That gets two of course.

Sabin comes back and puts Tozawa in the Tree of Woe. Baseball slide dropkick and Tozawa is in trouble now. Hesitation dropkick gets him nowhere as Tozawa pops right back up and is fine in seconds. Stay down for like 15 seconds. Is that too much to ask for? Tozawa gets a German suplex and then another German suplex for the pin. That was quick.

Rating: D+. This is probably low but I hate this kind of stuff. It’s about 70% strikes with a total lack of selling either way and just repeating the same move a few times to end it. This is what I’m talking about when I say indy/Japanese crap. There’s no psychology to it at all and it’s boring as hell and downright irritating at times, like here.

Scorpio Sky vs. Scott Lost

Lost is one of the founders/owners of PWG and this is his retirement match. They’re long time friends apparently, not that we’ve been told any reason for any of the matches taking place tonight or anything like that. Why would we need to know basic information such as that? We get the streamers because it’s his last match and all that jazz.

Lost gets a quick shot early on but gets kicked in the face for celebrating too much and goes to the floor. Back in now and he tends to hit a basic move and then run away. Sky hammers away as this is rather boring so far. Nice dropkick by Sky. Just one commentator in this match. Sky hasn’t been around for almost two years. Ok then. Lost gets his feet up in the corner and turns it into a double stomp I think. If I sound bored it’s because I am.

Scott shouts to the crowd if they want to see the best suplex in the world. You would think that would be a hint to Sky about what was coming but neither that or the fans chanting ONE MORE TIME was enough for him to block it. Camel clutch goes on Sky now and lasts all of 3 seconds. Out to the floor now with Lost beating the hell out of Sky including a clothesline onto some chairs.

Back in Sky hits some strikes and then Lost applies a body scissors. Sky reverses into a pin attempt for two and gets clotheslined for his efforts. From what I can find Lost is considered good. What the hell am I missing here? Sky grabs a triangle choke and uses the ropes for extra leverage that gets him nowhere. Tornado DDT by Sky puts both guys down.

More striking (yeah I’m stunned too) gets two for Sky. Lost suplexes him to the floor and both guys crash out there. Back in and a top rope elbow by Lost gets two. Frog Splash, one of Sky’s moves apparently, gets two for Lost. An attempt at a spear in the corner eats knees and Lost is sent to the floor with a suplex. Big dive takes Lost down again. Back in and Lost gets his knees up to avoid a Frog Splash.

Diamond Cutter (fuck that Ace Crusher shit) gets two for Lost. They slug it out again and Sky gets a modified Eye of the Hurricane for two. The fans say this is wrestling. The fans are also idiots. Big kick gets two for Lost. Lost tries a superplex but gets knocked down into a Frog Splash for two.

Silver Slice (Sky’s old partner’s finisher, which is a forward Diamond Cutter) gets two as does a TKO (Fireman’s carry into a Diamond Cutter. Love that move). Another TKO gets two which is disputed as the shoulder barely got up and three was counted anyway. The fans start a dueling chant of “You can’t beat him” and “Yes he can”. And then a spin kick ends it. Totally anti-climactic ending to say the least.

Rating: D. Oh man this was dull. I never once got into this match in the slightest. They were just doing random moves to each other and none of it ever got exciting at all. The ending was totally stupid too. Four finishers can’t beat him but a single kick can? Just end it on a damn finisher instead of some stupid kick. Another dull match that I don’t care about in the slightest, mainly as it was there to showcase Lost instead of have him go down. That can work ala Flair vs. HBK, but this didn’t do it at all. Boring as hell match.

There’s a big goodbye celebration for Scott. He gives a speech that you can’t understand because the fans won’t shut up. He talks about how once he stopped trying to be the best he got better and loved wrestling even more because of it. Lost says tomorrow he’ll make an announcement about what he’ll be doing, which would turn out becoming a comic book artist. If that’s what he wants to do, rock on man.

Roderick Strong vs. Bryan Danielson

I’ll be calling him Bryan in this for the sake of my own sanity. This is during his fired time from WWE. I’ve always liked Strong so this should be decent at least. People throw in ties in a nice joke to Bryan. This is his big return so a lot of people are happy here. The other commentator is named Rick Knox here apparently. Strong grabs the arm to start so the fans chant “You’re going to get your fucking head kicked in”. It’s a Danielson thing and it’s annoying as hell. Standoff after some mat work.

Danielson misses a big kick and Strong hits the floor to break up the momentum. Bryan goes off with kicks in the corner as I guess you can forget about me just calling him Bryan. Strong hammers away and we hit the mat due to reason of lack of air. Strong pulls out a tie to choke Danielson in a semi-funny bit. The announcers talk about how Danielson did nothing before appearing on WWE TV. I guess FCW is considered nothing now?

Bryan gets a running boot/knee to get us back to even. He grabs the tie now and chokes away at Strong. Well at least he’s got a sense of humor about it. Danielson teases a big dive but instead settles for a running knee off the apron. Top rope dropkick puts Strong down as does a running knee for two. Cattle Mutilation is blocked into a powerslam by Strong for two. Apparently the vegan thing has only been in place since the beginning of 2010. Interesting I guess.

Strong Hold by Strong which is one of his signature moves. It’s a Boston Crab/Liontamer if that makes no sense to you. Danielson slips out into a pinfall reversal sequence including an old school Tumbleweed. Off to a kneebar by Danielson getting us some Derrick Bateman inspired SUBMISSION WRESTLING! Strong gets to the ropes but Danielson has until five.

They strike away a bit and Bryan gets all ticked off. After a semi-botched crucifix Bryan hammers in 19 elbow strikes to the head. Little overkill there much? Cattle Mutilation (double chickenwing with a bridge. Look it up) but Strong makes the ropes. Gutbuster by Strong sets up a backbreaker which he does like 10 variations of but the LeBell Lock (not called that) goes on seconds later and it’s over. Bryan won if that wasn’t clear.

Rating: B. See, this was a far more competitive match with some thinking in it. The tie stuff was a nice touch and they made this feel like a big match. It helps that both guys are talented but I think that’s implied. Pretty good stuff here and definitely the best match of the show so far.

The fans want a speech from Bryan, who says he’s a PG wrestler and the fans can’t chant fuck. There’s a great indy gimmick in there somewhere. You can barely understand him as they really need to work on their technical stuff. He’s glad to see this building so packed and he couldn’t hear his music playing when it started which may be because the sound system here sucks. Well at least they’re self-aware. He’s a wrestler, not a spots entertainer and all that jazz.

PWG World Title: Chris Hero vs. Davey Richards

I know this is blasphemy but I’ve never been impressed with Davey Richards who is champion coming into this. You literally can’t understand the intros due to the fans. It’s not like they’re that loud either. It’s how bad the sound is. Richards is like 5’7 and Hero is about 6’5 so the size difference here is rather odd. Hero gets a rolling front facelock and tries for a leg lock which fails and we get a standoff.

Hero works the arm to start so Richards shifts around in some nice looking moves to escape. Chris is the longest reigning PWG Champion and lost it to Danielson who vacated it seconds later. Then why put the title on him like that? Richards manages to get a modified surfboard into a rollup but Hero reverses into the same hold which is more effective due to his long legs.

Excalibur is talking about dogs and rats in the Napoleonic age for no apparent reason at all. Oh apparently it was to prove that Richards is tough. Richards is a rat? Hero gets a shot to the ribs and Richards is in trouble. Richards is knocked to the floor but gets to the apron in time to kick the hell out of Hero on the floor. Baseball slide puts Hero down outside and Richards stands not very tall.

Back in and Richards hooks a combination Tequila Sunrise and Texas Cloverleaf. Hero gets up and hits a big kick to send Richards to the floor again. They slug it out on the floor with hero getting the upper hand. Back in and Hero hammers away and gets a senton for two. Off to a dragon sleeper as this has slowed way down. BIG right hand by Hero and down goes Richards for two.

Hero kicks him in the back and Richards gets all fired up by it somehow. A chop by Hero stops the comeback and a suplex/neckbreaker gets two. Big boot to the head in the corner and it’s been all Hero for a good while now. Richards fights back and gets a handspring into a spin kick for two (think Tajiri). Here come the kicks since this is an indy company. Hero tries a tope con hilo but lands on his feet. Richards throws one through the ropes and both guys are down outside.

Back in and Richards gets kicked in the head as he tries to go up. Hero gets his own knee wrenched around the rope as Richards comes in so the champion hammers away on it. Missile dropkick gets two and there’s a Texas Cloverleaf. Never mind as it lasted all of 2 seconds. The dueling chants begin. Belly to back by Hero buys him a few seconds. The fourth or fifth big boot of the match sends Richards down for a second and the elbow smash gets two for the challenger.

Rapid fire kicks in the corner by Davey but he runs into a knee in the corner. Cravate sets up kind of a Moonlight Drive for two for Hero. Richards hammers away but Hero hits big boot #847 for two. Cloverleaf goes on and Hero is in trouble. Richards lets it go for no apparent reason and gets caught in a small package. Damn twerp deserves it. They strike it out again (big boot!!!) and Richards gets two off a forearm.

Richards reverses a German suplex into an ankle lock but Hero sends him to the floor to reverse. Big forearm gets two and a big reaction on the kickout by Richards. Gorgeous moonsault gets two. Richards fires back with strikes but Hero hits the spinning forearm in the corner which is his finisher. That doesn’t even drop Richards and the ankle lock goes on for a second but instead it’s rolling German/kicking time. Ankle lock with a grapevine ends this with Richards keeping the title.

Rating: B-. This was your usual indy super match with it getting 25 minutes and there being a ton of strikes. I still absolutely hate the lack of selling in it though. I mean come on, Hero hits his finishing elbow/forearm smash and Richards doesn’t even go down? Seriously? I hate the lack of selling and strike fests that these matches turn into but it was entertaining for what it was.

Richards says Chris is awesome post match.

Tag Titles: Peligro Abejas vs. Young Bucks vs. Brandon Cutler/Dustin Cutler

Peligro Abejas are the champions and are more commonly known as El Generico and Paul London. The Bucks are Generation Me and I don’t know the Cutlers. This is Guerilla Warfare which means anything goes I think. The fight starts before the champions get here but they show up anyway for a pair of big dives. The Cutlers take down the champions with stereo shoulder blocks.

One fall to a finish and there are no rules other than that apparently. No tagging either. Generation Me poses after taking over a bit. The champions are down so it’s Cutlers vs. Jacksons (Bucks’ name here). The fans like the Bucks apparently. Generico kicks one of the Cutlers to the floor and then we get a big spot with four guys where one is powerbombed to the floor onto two others.

Generico may have a bad knee. He and London get some chair shots in as no one is in the ring at the moment. They start throwing the chairs which hit about ¾ of the time. Nick Jackson vs. Dustin Cutler in the ring at the moment which lasts for a few seconds in the ring. Yeah I’m shocked too. London and Generico are thrown over the bar (alcoholic variety) in the arena to get us down to four people.

Nick goes into the ring for a second and then dives back out again. They might have been in the ring for 18 seconds out of almost seven minutes. Generico is back now and gets his head cracked by a chair and then a trashcan lid. Generico tries a dive and gets drilled again. Not a good sequence for him. Even the announcer isn’t sure which Cutler is which. Matt Jackson powerbombs one of them on the floor.

London vs. Nick in the ring at the moment (I’m shocked too) and it’s off to the Bucks vs. London now. Damn it Nick took his shirt off which makes it harder to tell them apart. Generico is busted open now. Matt gets a rake from somewhere and rakes the back of Dustin for fun. Brandon caves their heads in with a trashcan to stand tall. They fight towards the tech area and Matt is launched onto everyone else. Total mess if you can’t tell that. Granted it’s supposed to be.

It’s table time with the Cutlers being the only people on their feet. London puts what looked like fireworks on the table. Ok then. Everything goes insaner as London puts Matt through the table with a superplex. The fireworks did nothing as that might not have been what they were (Excalibur called them that so I went with it). To give you an idea of how close the fans are, they’re slapping the mat for London to get up.

The Cutlers double team Nick and down he goes. They set up two chairs so that they charis are facing each other. Apparently they have a double team tombstone they use but Matt makes the save with a spear. Generico pops up and hooks Matt in a Tiger Suplex and London adds a dropkick to send him into the chairs which of course gets two. London is shoved off the top and the Young Bucks unload on the Cutlers with everything they’ve got and more stuff than I can type. London has to make a last second save, drawing a gasp from the crowd.

The Cutlers cause some Buck miscommunication. London dives to the floor and the tandem tombstone takes down Generico. It’s nothing special if you were wondering. London saves AGAIN. He’s done that a ton of times here and they’ve been the most awesome times of the match. No one in the ring at the moment.

Another table is brought in by the Cutlers who brought in the first one. After it’s set up the Bucks kill them with trashcans. Well at least they got the work done first. 450 by one Buck and a tornado DDT onto the apron by the other in some sick spots. London avoids More Bang for your Buck (Bucks’ finisher) but the Shooting Star for London can’t hit either. Generico gets his Brainbustahhhhhhh (close enough) while London hits a shooting star to the floor to take everyone out and it’s over with the champions retaining.

Rating: B. This was fine for what it was. It was supposed to be completely insane with everything going all over the place and that’s exactly what they did. It’s what was advertised and it was just that. Entertaining for sure but aside from a few of these kind of matches none of them really stand out. This one didn’t but it was still fun.

Overall Rating: B. This is indy wrestling 101. If you like the indy/Japanese style you’ll like this and if you’re not a fan you won’t like it. It’s ok but at the same time it’s certainly not something I’d want to watch on a regular basis. The total lack of stories here is really annoying because I have almost zero idea who these people are or why I should care. For a company based on DVD sales, why should I buy a DVD of guys where I have no idea why they’re fighting? It’s fine for a one off thing but I’m not likely to watch it again.